News

Syria's scuds on alert

Assad regime flexes its muscles as a warning to neighbours

Scud missiles can have a range of 440 miles and are able to carry chemical warheads

SYRIA’s Scud missile teams were placed on high alert this weekend and moved to
a new base, according to western intelligence sources.

The North Korean-made ballistic missiles, under the control of technicians
belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, were spotted by spy
satellites at an airbase north of Aleppo.

It is believed that the Scud D missiles, which have a range of 440 miles and
are able to carry chemical warheads, were moved from a depot at Al-Safir,
south of Aleppo, to act as a warning to any foreign powers contemplating
intervention to stop Syria’s bloodshed.

“It’s clear that the Syrians knew that moving the Scuds would be seen by
Western satellites,” said a defence source.

The Free Syrian Army, the rebel force, are believed to have made several
failed attempts in recent weeks to storm the Al-Safir depot, where the Scuds
were stored.